Financial Markets and Economy
Global Banks Fight Back on Brexit, Warning $51 Billion at Stake (Bloomberg)
Britain crashing out of the European single market could cost banks and associated businesses in the U.K. almost 40 billion pounds ($51 billion) in lost revenue, undermining a key sector of the economy, an industry report warned on Tuesday.
Emerging Asia Stocks Fall With Won on ECB, Fed Angst; Oil Jumps (Bloomberg)
Emerging-market stocks and currencies fell in Asia, while regional bonds declined as the prospect of monetary policies in Europe and the U.S. turning less accommodative unsettled investors.
Investors are too worried about Brexit (Visual Capitalist)
For the first half of the year, we were warned early and often by authorities that the Brexit vote could be a calamity for the ages.
For example, the IMF claimed that a “Leave” result would threaten to “cause severe damage”, while Standard and Poor’s said that it would “paralyze” investment in the UK.
IMF rows back on Brexit warnings as UK poised to become fastest growing G7 economy (The Telegraph)
The UK will be the fastest growing major economy this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, as it rowed back on predictions that a vote to leave the EU could plunge the country into recession and trigger a stock market crash.
Here's what China could do with its massive oil stockpile (OilPrice.com)
It’s not surprising that in recent years China has been taking advantage of the low crude prices to stockpile strategic and commercial oil reserves. It’s not surprising that official data – if and when authorities decide to make it available – understates said reserves.
Italy's first 50-year bond sale had huge demand (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Italy sold its first 50-year bond on Tuesday as some investors bet the European Central Bank may soon add ultra-long debt to its asset-purchase stimulus scheme.
TARGET2 Shows Europe's Banking Crisis Is Escalating Again (Fast) (GEFIRA.com)
Problems of Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Monte dei Paschi and other German, Italian and Spanish banks are not the only concern of the European Banking System. Trouble is much deeper than it is thought because there is a systemic imbalance that has been increasing for almost ten years.
When Did Our Elites Become Self-Serving Parasites? (Charles Hugh Smith, Of Two Minds)
When did our financial and political elites become self-serving parasites? Some will answer that elites have always been self-serving parasites; as tempting as it may be to offer a blanket denunciation of elites, this overlooks the eras in which elites rose to meet existential crises.
U.S. Economic Confidence Changed Little in September (Gallup)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The modest improvement in Americans' economic confidence first evident after the Democratic National Convention continued for a second consecutive month. Gallup's U.S. Economic Confidence Index averaged -10 for the month of September, in line with August's average of -11 and five points higher than the index's 12-month low in July.
Income Inequality – Does Money Matters? [INFOGRAPHIC] (Value Walk)
For a portrait of income inequality in science, look no further than the labs of the University of California. Twenty-nine medical researchers there earned more than US$1 million in 2015 and at least ten non-clinical researchers took home more than $400,000 each.
IMF sees pickup in U.S. inflation sooner than Fed does (Market Watch)
The International Monetary Fund sees U.S. consumer price inflation surpassing the Federal Reserve’s 2% target in 2017, one year ahead of the central bank’s own forecast.
New York ISM Employment Crashes At Fastest Pace Ever To 7-Year Lows (Zero Hedge)
For the second month in a row, New York Purchasing Managers saw contraction in the headline, printing 49.6 (below 50). Though a slight improvement from August's 47.5, the outlook tumbled to 59.5 (from 65.5) but it was the carnage in the jobs market that is most notable.
Don’t listen to the 400 richest Americans (Market Watch)
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (MarketWatch) — How, exactly, are you going to become a better investor by drooling over the latest Forbes list of 400 richest Americans?
BILL GROSS: Central bankers have turned the economy into a 'casino' that threatens capitalism (Business Insider)
Bill Gross is going after central bankers … again.
The famed bond investor at Janus Capital released his monthly outlook for October on Tuesday and again compared the world's central banks to a dangerous game, this time blackjack.
More Than 10% Of The Forbes 400 Are Immigrants, 14 Of Whom Are Richer Than Trump (Forbes)
From the proverbial garage in Silicon Valley to the boardroom of Wall Street, the immigrant American dreamers remain a key cog in the American entrepreneurialism machine.
Next U.S. President Will Face Uphill Struggle to Deliver Higher Wages (Benchmark, Bloomberg)
Both Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump have said they would work to get Americans a raise if they win the White House. Simple demographics are a reason for skepticism.
Nearly 7 in 10 Americans Have Less Than $1,000 in Savings, New Study Shows (The Motley Fool)
The U.S. is often referred to as the land of economic opportunity. Apparently it's also the land of consumption and "spend everything you've got."
We don't have to look far for confirmation that Americans are generally poor savers. Every month the St. Louis Federal Reserve releases data on personal household savings rates.
Fed's Evans says 'less concerned' on timing of next rate hike than path (Reuters)
Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans said on Wednesday that he is "less concerned" with when another rate hike occurs than he is on formulating inflation criteria for the pace of subsequent increases.
Companies
AT&T (T) Downgraded to Sell, Intense Competition a Reason (Yahoo Finance)
On Oct 3, wireless carrier AT&T Inc. T was downgraded to a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
AT&T has been facing intense competition from peers, compelling it to lower the price of its services.
A big Dutch bank is replacing 5,800 people with machines, at a cost of $2 billion (Quartz)
European banks are desperately trying to find ways to save money in these straitened times. ING, a major Dutch lender, announced this week that it plans to save €900 million ($1 billion) a year by cutting 5,800 jobs as part of a “digital transformation.” A further 1,200 employees will have their jobs changed or moved.
Olive Garden just signaled an ominous threat to the restaurant industry (Business Insider)
The CEO of Darden Restaurants, the owner of chains such as Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse, said in the company's quarterly earnings call on Tuesday that the restaurant industry needs to see some changes in order to become healthy again.
Tesla Beats Shipment Estimates, But PacCrest Is Worried About Margins (Bezinga)
Tesla Motors Inc TSLA 1.07% reported its Q3 deliveries at 24,500, well ahead of the consensus and the estimate.
Pacific Crest’s Brad Erickson believes the unit volume outperformance was a definite positive and would “reinforce any bullish thesis looking for a better-than-expected Model 3 ramp next year.”
Politics
Mike Pence is no saviour for a divided Republican Party (The Economist)
CONSERVATIVE principles “work every time you put them into practice”, Governor Mike Pence of Indiana told the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in his first big speech as Donald Trump’s vice-presidential running-mate.
Trump backers realize they’ve been played as WikiLeaks fails to deliver October surprise (The Washington Post)
LONDON — The expectations were breathless.
For weeks, backers of Republican nominee Donald Trump hyped the tantalizing possibility that the anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks was on the verge of publishing a set of documents that would doom Hillary Clinton’s chances in November.
State Attorney General Orders Trump Foundation to Cease Raising Money in New York (NY Times)
The office of New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman has issued a “notice of violation” to Donald J. Trump’s foundation, ordering it to immediately stop soliciting donations in New York.
U.S. Health-Care System Ranks as One of the Least-Efficient (Bloomberg)
America was 50th out of 55 countries in 2014, according to a Bloomberg index that assesses life expectancy, health-care spending per capita and relative spending as a share of gross domestic product. Expenditures averaged $9,403 per person, about 17.1 percent of GDP, that year — the most recent for which data are available — and life expectancy was 78.9. Only Jordan, Colombia, Azerbaijan, Brazil and Russia ranked lower.
When It Comes to Tax Avoidance, Donald Trump’s Just a Small Fry (NY Times)
Not paying taxes “makes me smart,” Donald J. Trump said last week. His surrogates called him “a genius” for his recently revealed tax avoidance strategies.Well, if they are right, the executives running corporate America are absolute virtuosos.
This Chart Is The Perfect Rebuttal To Governors Who Won’t Take In Syrian Refugees (Think Progress)
Governors from more than half of country are attempting to block refugees fleeing conflict in Syria from being settled in their states citing concerns that they might carry out terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. Experts familiar with the issue say their fears are largely unfounded.
Clinton Leads Trump 47%-38% in Pennsylvania Poll (Bloomberg)
Hillary Clinton has support of 47% of likely voters in Pa., Donald Trump 38%, Gary Johnson 5% and Jill Stein 0%, according to Franklin & Marshall College poll.
In his revealing new interview with New York Magazine, President Barack Obama reflected on five days that shaped his presidency and specifically referenced then-senate minority leader Mitch McConnell’s 2010 vow that Republicans’ “top political priority” was to deny him a second term.
Mike Pence says police officers don’t have implicit bias. He’s wrong. (Think Progress)
Gov. Mike Pence (R) asserted during the vice presidential debate that police officers do not have implicit biases, despite the fact that black men and women are pulled over at far higher rates than white people.
The RNC accidentally put up its “Mike Pence won the debate” post early (Vox)
The vice presidential debate between Tim Kaine and Mike Pence hasn’t even started yet, but the Republican National Committee already knows who won — it’s accidentally put up a prewritten post spinning a Pence victory early on GOP.com.
Most Americans Say Government Doesn’t Do Enough to Help Middle Class (Pew Research Center)
At a time when the middle class in the United States is losing ground, most Americans say the federal government provides too little help to this segment of society. And as voters begin casting the first ballots in the 2016 presidential election, neither political party is widely viewed as supportive of the middle class in this country.
Technology
Why wealthy drivers with DUIs get to pay less for car insurance (The Washington Post)
Think having a pristine driving record will guarantee you a low rate on car insurance?
Earning a fatter paycheck may make more of a difference, according to new research by the Consumer Federation of America, a consumer advocacy organization.
Samsung Patents Smartphone With Foldable, Bendable Display (Forbes)
The push for cutting-edge tech in smartphones is never-ending, and Samsung has been at the forefront of this for a while. Its Galaxy Note 7 floored reviewers and consumers by cramming a large 5.7-inch display onto a body that’s physically smaller than most phones with 5.5-inch displays (achieved via slightly curved screens and trimming of top and bottom bezels), and it looks like the South Korean tech giant is about to take another step toward achieving the goal providing a large screen experience in a compact package.
Justin Timberlake’s Aftermaster, Inc. (OTCQB: AFTM) Begins Production of its Highly Anticipated “Aftermaster Pro” (Emerging Growth)
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Oct. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Aftermaster, Inc. (OTCQB: AFTM), an award-winning, industry leading audio company, announces the commencement of production on its new Aftermaster Pro, the world’s first personal re-mastering device.
In Your New Google Home, Apple and Amazon Don't Exist (Fortune)
You can do anything with Google’s new device, except play Amazon Prime or Apple Music.
As expected, Google introduced its new smart-home device on Tuesday at a star-studded event in San Francisco. Known simply as Google Home, the table-top unit contains an artificial intelligence-powered assistant that users can give voice commands to, just as they can with the Amazon Echo.
Earthquakes Will Be as Predictable as Hurricanes Thanks to AI (Singularity Hub)
In the fall of 2010, I traveled to New Zealand, and one of the places I visited was the small south island city of Christchurch. I was charmed by the tree-lined Avon River, the English-style cathedral in the main square, and the mountains looming in the distance. Inside the cathedral was a stack of poems with a moving message of peace. I saved one to tack on my cork board at home, where it remains to this day.
Micron Technology Warns of Tight Memory-Chip Supplies (The Wall Street Journal)
Micron Technology Inc. said it is seeing signs of tight supplies of memory chips, a good omen for the company’s bottom line but a potential worry for makers of smartphones, computers and other high-tech products.
Health and Biotech
This Gene Mutation May Make You Crave More Greasy Food (And Shrink Your Sweet Tooth) (Popular Science)
We all love eating junk food even though we know it's not part of a healthy diet. Some of us prefer burgers and fries that widen our waistlines, while others struggle with diabetes-inducing cookies and candies.
Generation Zika (Scientific American)
U.S. public health officials are bracing for a wave of babies with severe Zika-related birth defects. The latest official numbers suggest 808 pregnant women in the U.S. appear to have been infected with Zika.
Facing a Silent Liver Disease Epidemic (Scientific American)
For most people, the acronym NASH won’t ring any bells. But NASH, or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, is stealthily showing up in the livers of millions of Americans.
Drinking Coffee Could Reduce Your Risk for Dementia (Fortune)
According to a new study.
Caffeine intake may be linked with a lower risk for dementia in older women.
That’s according to a new analysis by a team of researchers published in the Journals of Gerontology, which tracked nearly 6,500 women ages 65-80 over the course of 10 years.
Novel study of pancreatic cancer aims to give patients more treatment options (Stat News)
Just 3 percent of adult cancer patients participate in clinical trials of experimental treatments. In a novel effort to boost that number, a national nonprofit is launching an unusual study — one that allows patients to move easily between several experimental therapies, without spending precious time trying to find and qualify for a new trial if the first one doesn’t help.
Life on the Home Planet
Origins of America’s obsession with ice` (Holy Kaw)
Nothing throws a lukewarm glass of water on an American’s international travel experience like realizing the rest of the world isn’t obsessed with icy coldness.
At one point in the history of the U.S., fortunes were made exporting ice abroad, which comes as no surprise to anyone who’s seen the Great Lakes in January.
Inside The Shadowy PR Firm That's Lobbying For Regime Change In Syria (Alternet)
On September 30, demonstrators gathered in city squares across the West for a "weekend of action” to “stop the bombs” raining down from Syrian government and Russian warplanes on rebel-held eastern Aleppo.
World's Largest Carbon-Capture Plant to Open Soon (Scientific American)
It’s a tall order for any new technology, but for a commercial carbon capture and storage (CCS) system, it might be the start of a revolution.
The Petra Nova carbon capture system under construction at the W.A. Parish Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant southwest of Houston, is slated to go online before the end of the year.
Scientists just found the largest continuous coral system – and it’s like nothing we've ever seen (Science Alert)
It’s taken two decades, but scientists have finally completed their survey of the deep sea ecosystems surrounding the Hawaiian islands, and they’ve found something truly remarkable.
Rebels fend off Aleppo assault as nations seek to rebuild peace process (Reuters)
Syrian rebels said on Tuesday they had repelled an army offensive in southern Aleppo as Russian and Syrian warplanes pounded residential areas, while nations spoke of rebuilding a peace process the United States broke off this week.
